Four times in his eight-year career, Christian McCaffrey has finished as the RB1 or RB2. Three times, however, he has finished outside the top 37. He is arguably the biggest early-round enigma coming off a season where he finished as the RB68 in PPR after being unanimously drafted as the number one pick in redraft leagues.

When McCaffrey is on the field, he’s a league winner, without fail. The problem is, he’s entering his age-29 season and has had five injuries of at least a grade 2 severity dating back to 2020. This includes both the Achilles sprain from last offseason, which developed into tendinitis in both feet, and the PCL sprain in December, which ended his 2024 season after he played in only three and a half games.

Currently, he’s being drafted as the RB6 in redraft, sandwiched in between Ashton Jeanty and De’Von Achane. I’ve seen him fall as far as the 2/3 turn and go as early as number 3 overall. I tend to be on the less bullish side, as I have him behind Achane. I do have him at number 15 overall ahead of wide receivers like AJ Brown and Drake London. It’s too soon to definitively say how I’ll feel taking him with either my first or second-round pick. News like this is encouraging, however. If I knew I was getting a healthy McCaffrey for most of next season, I would take him top-5 no question.

–Blake Stachel (@bllakkay)